Trials of the Diaspora A History of anti-semitism in England Anthony Julius (2010) Oxford University Press Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction xiii PART I CONTEXTS 1. Enmities 3 2. Defamations 69 PART II VERSIONS 3. Medieval English Anti-Semitism 105 4. English Literary Anti-Semitism 148 5. Modern English Anti-Semitism 242 6. The Mentality of Modern English Anti-Semitism 348 7. Contemporary Secular Anti-Zionisms 441 8. Contemporary Confessional Anti-Zionisms, and a Conclusion 532 Notes 589 Extract acknowledgements 784 Index 785 Flyleaf Trials of the Diaspora presents the long and troubling history of anti-Semitism in England, from the middle ages to the twenty-first century. Anthony Julius identifies four distinct versions of English anti-Semitism, which he then investigates in detail. The first is the anti-Semitism of medieval England, a radical prejudice of defamation, expropriation, and murder, which culminated in 1290, the year of Edward I's expulsion of the Jews from England, after which there were no Jews left to torment. The second major strand is literary anti-Semitism: an anti-Semitic account of Jews continuously reappearing in English literature, from the anonymous medieval ballad 'Sir Hugh, or the Jew's Daughter' through Shakespeare to Charles Dickens, T. S. Eliot, and beyond. Thirdly, Julius addresses modern anti-Semitism, a quotidian anti-Semitism of insult and partial exclusion, pervasive but contained, experienced by Jews from their 'readmission' to England in the mid-17th century through to the late 20th century. The final chapters then deal with contemporary anti-Semitism, a new configuration of anti-Zionisms, emerging in the late 1960s and the 1970s, which treats Zionism and the State of Israel as illegitimate Jewish enterprises. It is this final perspective which, in Julius's opinion, now constitutes the greatest threat to Anglo-Jewish security and morale. This book, the first history of its kind, is sure to provoke much comment and debate, and comes as a timely reminder that English culture has been in no way immune to anti-Semitism— and in certain ways is still not to this day. Anthony Julius is the author of several books, including T.S. Eliot: anti-Semitism and Literary Form, and is engaged in various political, legal, anti-Semitic activities. Deputy Chairman of the commercial law firm Mishcon de Reya, specializing in litigation law, he is also chairman of the London Consortium, a Visiting Professor at Birkbeck College, University of London, and was a founder and first Chairman of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. Back cover The long and troubling history of anti-Semitism in England, from the middle ages to the twenty-first century. Sure to provoke much comment and debate, Trials of the Diaspora serves as a timely reminder that English culture has been in no way immune to anti-Semitism—and in certain ways is still not to this day. 'This is an essential history and so it's fortunate it has been written by a man with the extraordinary fluency, staggering erudition, scholarly integrity, intellectual acumen, and moral discernment of Anthony Julius.' - Philip Roth 'Anthony Julius has produced a brilliant and readable account of a shameful stain on the national reputation. The best dissection I've seen of Britain's oldest and least acknowledged racial prejudice.' - NickCohen 'Part history of an irrational hatred, part forensic analysis of a sophistical lie, part literary criticism, this exhilarating work nails a defamation which, to humanity's discredit, persists to this hour. Indispensable.' - Howard Jacobson 'Writing against a backdrop of rising violence and abuse directed at English Jews and the State of Israel, Anthony Julius insightfully and passionately traces antisemitism's abject history in England from the medieval period until today. This eminently readable book is thoroughly researched and nuanced, and its take on contemporary antisemitism is a true tour tie force: Jehuda Reinharz, Richard Koret Professor of Modern Jewish History and President, Brandeis University Introduction Experiences of many kinds go into the writing of a book—more of them, indeed, than the writer himself can ever know. Only some of them survive as memories. Many years ago, I took a train journey to Birmingham with my father and a non-Jewish business associate whom I will call 'Arthur'. I was ten or eleven years old at the time, and I would often tag along on these business trips, when school allowed. My father owned a number of menswear shops, mainly in the West Country. He had enjoyed considerable success in business, and it was a familiar experience for me to see him in the company of other businessmen seeking his advice or asking for favours. Arthur was one such man, and his conversations with my father always had a slightly cloying, ingratiating quality. I remember that on this occasion he was talking about his daughter, who was about my age but whom I had not met. Arthur rambled on, my father patiently listening, while I read a book. And then Arthur said something like the following: 'Do you know, Morris, she has got a special little friend, a Jewish girl, and we had the girl over for tea last weekend. I must say, the child has got the most beautiful manners.' He beamed. I had a sense of the temperature in the compartment rising, but nothing else was said on the subject, and after a short period, Arthur wandered off to the dining car to buy a drink. My father turned to me, fuming. 'Did you hear what he said? I am supposed to be impressed that he actually had a Jewish girl over to his house for tea? And that she had beautiful manners?' 'So what are you going to say, Daddy?' I asked. Nothing, of course. What is there to say?' Shortly afterwards, Arthur returned, and the two men resumed their conversation, chatting together until we arrived at our destination. That evening, we took quite a late train home, and found ourselves sharing an open carriage with the players of a First Division football team. They had just played an 'away' match and were going back to London. At that time, stories about the violent activities of 'football hooligans' filled.... Criticism from: Goldberg, David J (2012), This Is Not the Way: Jews, Judaism and Israel, Faber and Faber, p83 It was precisely the unremitting humourlessness with which Anthony Julius tracked down in Trials of the Diaspora every anti-Jewish reference, whether banal or baneful, in English literature and journalism from medieval times to the present that made it such an indigestible read. It was in support of his thesis, expanded over 588 pages of text plus nearly two hundred more of exhaustive notes, that there is something sinister in current attacks on Jews and the State of Israel that he puts down to 'the persistence in this country of an obdurate, harsh anti-Semitism resistant both to reason and considerations of decency'. A strong indictment; but in a disparaging review15 that has probably made me an enemy for life, I poked fun at what first alerted Julius, aged eleven, to the ubiquitous nuances of anti-Semitism. He was, he tells us, travelling in a train with his father and a non-Jewish business associate, tactfully given the alias of 'Arthur'. The two grown-ups were chatting amiably until 'Arthur' said something along the lines that his daughter had a special friend, a Jewish child, and, 'I must say, the child has got the most beautiful manners.' What a traumatic exposure to anti-Semitism for the young Julius! My earlier generation, as I wrote in the review, was made of sterner stuff. Our gym teacher at primary school would simplify choosing football sides by dividing us up into Jews versus Christians, or 'Yids against Yoks' as we Jewish boys called it; and it was a dare among us who would respond loudest to our teacher Miss Fisher's 'Good morning, children' by substituting a P for the F in our 'Good morning, Miss Fisher' back..